A Syrian on a motorcycle is reflected in the glass door of a shop which has bullet holes, in the town of Taftanaz. Photograph: AP

11.38pm: Ban Ki-moon says that a Syria peace plan put forward by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan was still the focus, even if there was little evidence that it was working. He said the international community must "speak with one voice and deliver a clear, unmistakable message" to Syria.

11.10pm: Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, is giving a press conference about the situation in Syria. Here are some of the main points:

• He says the situation in Syria is close to "breaking point" and the danger of civil war is "imminent and real".

• He said opposition to the government was hardening and "terrorists are exploiting the chaos".

• Talking about the recent claims of massacres, he said they were "indicative of a pattern that may amount to crimes against humanity".

• "The Syrian people are bleeding," he said, "They are angry. They want peace and dignity. Above all, they all want action."

9.24pm:Martin Chulov's latest report summing up the day's events in Syria is published here. Chulov reports on comments by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, condemning the Syrian regime as having "lost its fundamental humanity". He says it is Ban's his most pointed language to date.

7.46pm:Syria: More comments from William Hague, the foreign secretary, who has warned of deepening violence in Syria. Hague said the G20 summit in Mexico later this month should be used to discuss the Syria crisis.

If the Annan plan does not work at all, if no-one, even then, is prepared to ensure that it is implemented, well, then we have to return to the UN Security Council to debate more robust and effective measures. But, of course, any idea of such measures has been blocked in the past.

He said that while Russia and China were in favour of the former UN sercretary general Kofi Annan's plan, unless they applied more pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, it would be "given the breathing space to fight on in this despicable, murderous way."

What we want is for them to join us in exercising their leverage, their power to ensure that the Assad regime actually does those things, actually implements the Annan plan.

7.09pm:Syria: The White House has condemned as "outrageous" yesterday's alleged massacre in Syria. It said that claims of dozens of civilians killed were "credible".

This, coupled with the Syrian regime's refusal to let UN observers into the area to verify these reports, is an affront to human dignity and justice. There is no justification for this regime's continued defiance of its obligations under the Annan Plan, and Assad's continued abdication of responsibility for these horrific acts has no credibility and only further underscores the illegitimate and immoral nature of his rule.

The future of Syria will be determined by the Syrian people, and the international community must come together in support of their legitimate aspirations. We call once more on all nations to abandon support for this brutal and illegitimate regime, and to join together to support a political transition in Syria - one that upholds the promise of a future for which far too many have already died.

6.49pm:Syria: United Nations monitors are returning to their base in the Syrian city of Hama after being unable to visit the village of Mazraat al-Qubeir, the scene of an alleged massacre on Wednesday. A spokeswoman said the team would try to reach the site again on Friday during daylight hours, according to Reuters.

General Robert Mood, the head of the UN observer team, said they had been turned back by Syrian soldiers and also stopped by civilians.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, earlier said observers were also shot at with small arms.

Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

6.42pm:Syria: William Hague (pictured left) said yesterday's alleged killings were "another example of the escalating horror and murder in Syria".

It is another example of what I would say is the escalating depravity and criminality of this regime.

Speaking about a peace deal authored by Kofi Annan, he added:

The Annan plan won't last indefinitely. Syria is clearly on the edge... of deeper violence, of deep, sectarian violence, village against village, pro-government militias against opposition areas and of looking more like Bosnia in the 1990s than of Libya last year.

The Annan plan has clearly failed so far but it is not dead, all hope for it is not lost.

Hague said Russia had "important leverage" over the Syrian regime.

If all the members of the Security Council and the whole Arab world increase the pressure on the Assad regime to implement that plan then it is still possible to do so.

It would take a big change on the part of the regime but time is not yet at an end. It's clearly running out because that violence is escalating, even violence against the regime appears to be escalating.

We saw accounts of 80 Syrian soldiers killed the other day. So this is a rapidly deteriorating situation.

6.19pm:Syria: William Hague, the foreign secretary, has been speaking about the situation in Syria. He warns the country is "clearly on the edge" and the situation was "rapidly deteriorating" following the latest massacre. Hague said a peace plan brokered by Kofi Anna, the former UN secretary-general, has "clearly failed so far" and he urged Russia and China to put pressure on President Bashar al-Assad's regime to end the violence. He said: "Time is not yet at an end, it's clearly running out."

Syria

• UN observers have been shot at as they tried to reach al-Qubair, where activists say at least 78 people were massacred yesterday, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon said. Earlier, General Robert Mood, head of the monitoring mission, said monitors had been stopped at military checkpoints and in some cases turned back. Some patrols were stopped by civilians in the area, he said. The pro-government Addounia television is reported that UN observers had arrived in al-Qubair.

• Opposition groups said the massacre was carried out by pro-regime shabiha militiamen armed with guns and knives after regular troops had shelled the area. The Syrian government denied the allegations and state media blamed "an armed terrorist group committed an appalling crime".

• The UN and Arab League special envoy, Kofi Annan, admitted that his six point peace plan is failing. He called on the international community to act as one and make clear that there will be consequences if the plan is not adhered to. Annan said "the first responsibility lies with the government". He described his "horror" at events in al-Qubair, while Ban Ki-moon condemned them as unspeakable barbarity".

• US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has described the reported massacre as "simply unconscionable" and British prime minister David Cameron said: "If these reports are true, it is yet another absolutely brutal and sickening attack." The Russian foreign ministry condemned it as a "despicable provocation" aimed at frustrating the Annan plan, without attributing blame for it.

• France announced it will host a meeting on 6 July of countries that back the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but foreign minister Bernard Valero said it would not include Iran in attempts to resolve the crisis. He said: "The Iranian regime until now has without fail supported Bashar al-Assad and the bloody repression of his people. In this context, it is not possible to have it associated with resolving the Syrian crisis."

Egypt

• There are hints that former president Hosni Mubarak will shortly be transferred from a prison hospital to a military hospital. His health is said to have "deteriorated significantly" after he was sentenced to life imprisonment at the weekend. Doctors at the Cairo prison where he is serving a life sentence had to constantly administer oxygen to him overnight, security officials said.

Application of the so-called Yemen scenario to resolve the conflict in Syria is possible only if the Syrians themselves agree to it. The Yemen scenario was discussed by the Yemenis themselves. If this scenario is discussed by Syrians themselves and is adopted by them, we are not against it.

The Yemeni plan was brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council but there appears to be little prospect of such a deal being agreed with Assad.

President Assad believed the main obstacle was the actions of militants. Clearly, all parties must cease violence. But equally clearly, the first responsibility lies with the government.

Since then, shelling of cities has intensified. Government-backed militia seem to have free rein with appalling consequences. Yes, some detainees have been released, and agreement has been reached on modalities for humanitarian assistance. But the hour demands much more. And President Assad has not indicated a change of course in his recent address to the National Assembly.

4.03pm:Syria: Kofi Annan (pictured left) says President Assad told him the biggest obstacle to implementation of the peace plan was "militants". Annan says the government must take the first step.

The army has continued shelling, armed opposition groups have "intensified their attacks" and a "third actor" appears to be present carrying out bombings, says Annan.

The longer we wait the more polarised and radicalised the situation will become ...It must be made clear there will be consequences if compliance is not forthcoming.

Annan concludes:

The international community must come together and act as one.

3.56pm:Syria: Kofi Annan, the joint special envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States has begun addressing the UN general assembly. He says:

I must be frank and confirm that the plan is not being implemented.

He expresses his "horror and condemnation" at the massacre in al-Qubair "just two weeks after the massacre in Houla that shocked the world".

Such massacres cannot become "everyday reality".

The crisis is escalating, the country is becoming more polarised and more radicalised, says Annan.

3.45pm:Syria: Addressing the UN general assembly, Ban Ki-moon also said: "President Assad and his government have lost all legitimacy". He added:

The monitors are the eyes and ears of the international community. We must acknowledge the risks at which they operate.

He called on Assad to "urgently and unconditionally" implement the six-point plan put forward by Kofi Annan.

Photograph: Damir Sagolj/AFP

3.41pm:Syria: Ban Ki-moon (pictured left) said the UN monitors were shot at with small arms trying to reach the site of the reported massacre in al-Qubair. He described the alleged killings in the village, in Hama province, as "shocking and sickening", condemning them as "unspeakable barbarity".

He said "everyday more people die, everyday more people are force from their homes. All violence must end - from the regime, from the armed opposition."

3.32pm:Syria: The UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, has just said that the UN monitors have been shot at whilst trying to get into al-Qubair, Hama.

Leith Al-Hamwy said troops shelled the area for five hours on Wednesday before government-aligned militiamen known as shabiha entered the area, "killing and hacking everyone they could find."

He told AP by telephone that he survived by hiding in an olive grove about 800 metres from the farms as the killings were taking place. But he said his mother and six siblings, the youngest 10-year-old twins, did not. He said:

When I came out of hiding and went inside the houses, I saw bodies everywhere. Entire families either shot or killed with sharp sticks and knives.

Al-Hamwy said the gunmen set his family home on fire and his family burned to death. Around 80 people in total died, he said, many of them children, and 18 homes were either destroyed by the shelling or burned down.

3.05pm:Syria: Reporters also appear to have been blocked from getting to al-Qubair. On a closed Facebook page for reporters covering conflicts, Gert Van Langendonck, who writes for Christian Science Monitor and Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, says that he, like the UN monitors, has been prevented from reaching the alleged site of the massacre. He wrote:

We have also been turned back in Hama, 'for our own safety'. Govt story is 13 ppl killed not FSA but 'terrorists' and al-Jazeera 'exaggerating' the story

On the same Facebook page, Sharron Ward, an independent filmmaker and video journalist, wrote:

Sky News' Tim Marshall @skytwitius was just stopped trying to enter al-Qubair, Hama, stopped by Syrian Army "for their own safety" but plenty of other cars were allowed down the road ...

2.46pm:Syria: The Syrian ambassador to India, Riad Abbas, has accused the opposition of being responsible for the alleged massacre in al-Qubair, in order to garner international attention. He is quoted by the Hard News website as saying:

The timing of the massacre is important. Today, an important conference is scheduled in Turkey. The opposition wants international attention. Even the Houla massacre coincided with UN envoy Kofi Annan's visit. Why would a regime butcher its own people?...

Much of the violence is happening in areas controlled by the opposition. The people have been butchered. It was not the army which would do such a ghastly act. Moreover, following the ceasefire, much of the heavy army presence in Hama had to be pulled out. The opposition took advantage of the situation...

We suspect such violence before every important event on Syria. This is a ploy by the opposition forces to discredit the Syrian government. Most of the people killed in Houla were pro-government Syrian citizens. One newly elected MP in Homs was threatened, asking him to pull out from Parliament. When he refused, his whole family was killed by militants. It is the pro-government people who are dying. Half of the people killed so far in the insurgency are army personnel.

2.27pm:Syria: The pro-government Addounia television is reporting that UN observers have arrived in al-Qubair, scene of an alleged massacre yesterday.

The head of the monitoring mission, General Robert Mood, said earlier (see 1.09pm) that observers had been turned back at army checkpoints but were still trying to reach the village.

1.50pm:Tunisia: The new government has been unable to address the desperate economic situation that helped to trigger the uprising against President Ben Ali last year, the International Crisis Group warns in a new report.

Formidable social and economic challenges threaten to halt progress. Among these challenges, three stand out: rising unemployment – particularly of university graduates – stark regional inequalities and corruption.

Although the unity government led by the Islamist Ennahda party is aware of these social and economic ills, it so far has been unable to address them rapidly enough and is failing to quell the impatience of workers and unemployed youth who expect to reap the fruits of their involvement in past struggles.

To avoid destabilising social conflicts, the government needs to better respond to the escalating violence caused by worsening economic conditions; get a handle on the large informal economic sector, including smuggling; overcome administrative bottlenecks that hamper socio-economic improvements; and foster democratisation at the regional and local level.

Syria

• UN observers have been prevented from reaching al-Qubair where activists say at least 78 people were massacred yesterday. General Robert Mood, head of the monitoring mission, said: "They are being stopped at Syrian army checkpoints and in some cases turned back. Some of our patrols are being stopped by civilians in the area."

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the massacre was carried out by pro-regime shabiha militiamen armed with guns and knives after regular troops had shelled the area.

Syrian state TV said troops had attacked "terrorists" – the phrase the official media uses for any opposition, armed or peaceful, to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

• US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has described the reported massacre in al-Qubair as "simply unconscionable" and British prime minister David Cameron said: "If these reports are true, it is yet another absolutely brutal and sickening attack."

• Today, Kofi Annan, the joint UN-Arab League envoy, will give his latest assessment of the Syrian conflict to the UN general assembly and then brief the security council behind closed doors.

Annan is said to be hoping to stop a total collapse of his six-point plan for a truce and negotiated political solution. There are reports that he will present a plan for creating a "contact group", though it is unclear whether that will be acceptable to Syria's most powerful allies, Russia and China.

Egypt

• There are hints that former president Hosni Mubarak will shortly be transferred from a prison hospital to a military hospital. His health is said to have "deteriorated significantly" after he was sentenced to life imprisonment at the weekend.

1.11pm:Kuwait: The emir has rejected a bill approved by parliament which would introduce the death penalty for blasphemy, the Arab Times reports. The paper says the bill may still become law, however, if parliament approves it once again with a two-thirds majority.

AFP reported earlier that the bill says defendants who repent in court will be jailed for five years and/or fined $36,000 – though repentance will not be accepted for a second offence.

1.09pm:Syria: United Nations observers in Syria have been prevented from reaching the village of Mazraat al-Qubair where activists say at least 78 people were massacred, the head of the monitoring mission has confirmed.

General Robert Mood said:

They are being stopped at Syrian army checkpoints and in some cases turned back. Some of our patrols are being stopped by civilians in the area.

He also said he was receiving information from residents in the area "that the safety of our observers is at risk if we enter the village of Mazraat al-Qubair." Despite this, monitors were still working to get into the village, he said.

12.51pm:Syria: US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has described the reported massacre in al-Qubair as "simply unconscionable". From Reuters:

Speaking in Istanbul, Clinton said the United States was willing to work with all members of the UN security council, which includes Russia, on a conference on Syria's political future.

But that conference would have to start with the premise that Assad and his government give way to a democratic government, she told a news conference.

"We are disgusted by what we are seeing," she said, referring to continuing violence in Syria.

The television station blamed the Syrian army, which it said fired about 40 rounds across the border, destroying the car Shaaban was sitting in at the time.

12.22pm:Syria: In figures compiled before the latest allegation of a massacre in al-Qubair, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) and Damascus Centre for Human Rights Studies (DCHRS) claim that 2,261 Syrian citizens have been killed in the presence of international observers, between 12 April and 4 June this year.

The groups say they "observe rigorous documentation standards to verify each piece of information by seeking testimonies from two people who do not know one another before it is included in the casualties' record".

They say the figure includes 212 children and 193 women, as well as 116 people who died under torture. Additionally, they say that 211 members of the military, whether pro or anti-regime have been killed over the same period.

The groups say that the Syrian government has not allowed them to verify the names of the victims declared by the Syrian authorities.

Opposition activists says 78 people were killed in a "massacre" in the village yesterday.

11.43am:Syria: Sausan Ghosheh, a spokeswoman for the UN monitors, has refused to comment on whether entry to al-Qubair, site of an alleged massacre, has been refused by the Syrian army, as activists have claimed (see 11.12am). Ghosheh told Reuters only:

The regime now, as it's losing battles on the ground, as the army is deteriorating more and more, as soldiers are defecting in big numbers, is now trying to depend more on pro-government gangs – we call them Shabiha - in order to intimidate people and to punish villages and towns which are part of the revolution. That's why yesterday after shelling which continued for about one hour, the Shabiha from neighbouring villages stormed Qubair village killing 78 civilians in a very nasty way. Actually they executed them. Most of the killings were by shooting bullets, others were slaughtered by knives and others were burned alive. It was a very horrible massacre and it's really an indication of the dilemma of the regime nowadays.

He said that he had obtained the information by speaking over the phone to an activist colleague who had met survivors from al-Qubair. He continued:

Today, UN monitors tried to reach to al-Qubair. Now at this moment while I am talking to you they are at military checkpoint in al-Majdal - it's a nearby town - and the Syrian army doesn't allow them to come into [al-Qubair] and they [the army] say to them that maybe terrorists will shoot them when they are inside ...but the terrorists are actually the Syrian army. They [the monitors] feel they might be targeted by the Syrian army.

10.43am:Bahrain: King Hamad has issued a decree changing the name of the Ministry of Human Rights and Social Development to the Ministry of Social Development.

10.37am:10.36am:Syria: Twitter user "News of the Syrian Revolution" claims UN observers trying to reach al-Qubair have been stopped at a government checkpoint.

UN observers were stopped by an Assad checkpoint and prevented from proceeding into AlQubair and Maarzaf city. #Syria

10.13am:Syria: Rime Allaf, a Syrian writer and an associate fellow at Chatham House thinktank in London, was interviewed on the BBC Today programme this morning. Asked if we should believe that accounts of government shelling followed by indiscriminate murder by government-supporting militias are pretty close to the truth, she said:

I think we do until we have any other way of being sure of what is happening because ... it echoes exactly what happened in Houla a couple of weeks ago and it has been done also in smaller scale throughout Syria over the past year or so.

There has been first attacks by the regime, by the army itself which is shelling and bombing, and then they have their thugs coming in.

The point is, I think, that we've had evidence repeatedly every single time that the activists have claimed there is a massacre we've had the evidence afterwards.

At a meeting of Arab and European foreign ministers she spelled out "essential elements and principles that we believe should guide that post Assad transition strategy, including Assad's full transfer of power", a senior state department official said.

These would include "the establishment of a fully representative and inclusive interim government which leads to free and fair elections, a ceasefire to be observed by all and equality for all Syrians under the law".

9.45am:Syria: Another opposition activist group, the Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC), has sent through a list containing the names of 56 people it says were killed in al-Qubair yesterday. It claims at least 78 people were killed - more than 40 from the same family. In a statement, it urges the UN security council to use force to protect civilians. It says:

We call upon the general assembly of the security council to do its duty and protect the civilians under chapter 7. We also urge the minister conference that will take place in Istanboul, Turkey to support our request in proposing the entire Syrian file to the security council under chapter 7.

9.31am:Syria: Leaders of a bloc representing China, Russia and Central Asian states have today called for dialogue to address the violence in Syria, all but guaranteeing that there will be no end to the deadlock in discussions at the UN security council, Reuters reports.

"The Shanghai group member states are against military interference in the affairs of this region [Middle East and North Africa], enforced 'handover of power', unilateral sanctions," a joint statement from leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation said.

"Member states stress the need to stop any violence on the territory of Syria wherever it is coming from, they respect broad nationwide dialogue, based on independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria."

U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, the former U.N. secretary-general, is to brief the Security Council in New York on Thursday. U.N. diplomats said they expected Annan to present a new proposal to rescue his failing peace plan by creating a "contact group" of world and regional powers.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping said on Thursday that both China and Russia would remain opposed to foreign intervention.

"The Syrian issue should be resolved based on envoy Annan's six-point proposal within the UN framework," Cheng told a news conference. "You can't say that because you dislike a country's system, you can then think of ways to overturn its government."

9.24am:Syria: At least one million people in Syria are in need of urgent assistance, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says in its latest report.

This includes people injured during fighting; families who have lost their breadwinners or left their home areas; host communities; and those whose vulnerability has increased due to the impact of the unrest on livelihoods and access to essential services.

Key points from the report:

• Food prices have risen by 30% to 60% over the past year and access to food in some areas has been severely reduced.

• Families who have relocated as a result of the unrest are in urgent need of non-food items, including hygiene kits, kitchen sets, blankets and mattresses.

• Healthcare services in the areas most affected by the unrest have suffered disruptions and are facing shortages in essential medicines.

9.09am:Syria: British prime minister David Cameron has commented on the reported Qubair massacre. Speaking in Oslo, he said:

If these reports are true, it is yet another absolutely brutal and sickening attack.

Frankly, the international community has got to condemn absolutely this regime and President Assad for what he is doing.

I think that lots of different countries in the world – countries that sit around the UN Security Council table - have got to sit down today and discuss this issue.

None of them should be able to hide from the fact that, if this is true, it will be once again President Assad demonstrating that his regime is completely illegitimate and cannot stand.

We need to do much more to isolate Syria, to isolate the regime, to put the pressure on and to demonstrate that the whole world wants to see a political transition from this illegitimate regime and to actually see one that can take care of its people.

It really is appalling, what is happening in that country, and I want to see concerted action from the international community.

9.03am:Syria: A statement from the Revolution Leadership Council of Damascus:

Qubair is 20km away from Hama, and it is located near Ma'arzaf village. It was formed of only 25 houses inhabited by 150 people, now, more than half of them are killied.

The timing of Qubair massacre is not clear so far, but the ranch, as they call it, was under shelling since 1pm on 6 June. Several people were killed in the shelling.

After shelling, shabiha and pro-regime militias armed with machine guns and knives stormed into the ranch in the midst of heavy gunfire, and raided civilian homes and randomly shot their residents. Shabiha then led many men outside their homes and slaughtered them. It was reported that 10 people were also burned after they were killed.

Residents of the area were of three main families, now, the largest part of them was killed. Out of about 150 residents, around 80 were killed including 22 children and 20 women. Thirty corpses were kidnaped by shabeeha afterwards.

The Guardian is unable to verify these allegations.

8.44am: (all times BST) Welcome to Middle East Live. Today we shall be trying to shed light on the latest reported massacre in Syria and following diplomatic manoeuvres as Kofi Annan prepares to brief the United Nations. We shall also be monitoring developments elsewhere in the region.

Syria

• Syria's government has been accused of carrying out a new massacre yesterday in al-Qubair, a small village near the central city of Hama, with an opposition group claiming 100 people, including many women and children, had been killed.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the massacre was carried out by pro-regime shabiha militiamen armed with guns and knives after regular troops had shelled the area.

Syrian state TV said troops had attacked "terrorists" – the phrase the official media uses for any opposition, armed or peaceful, to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

• Today, Kofi Annan, the joint UN-Arab League envoy, will give his latest assessment of the Syrian conflict to the UN general assembly and then brief the security council behind closed doors.

Annan is said to be hoping to stop a total collapse of his six-point plan for a truce and negotiated political solution. There are reports that he will present a plan for creating a "contact group", though is unclear whether that will be acceptable to Syria's most powerful allies, Russia and China.

Egypt

• There are hints that former president Hosni Mubarak will shortly be transferred from a prison hospital to a military hospital. His health is said to have "deteriorated significantly" after he was sentenced to life imprisonment at the weekend.

The Egypt Independent says that after sentencing Mubarak had expected to be taken back to the luxurious, military-run International Medical Centre, where he had spent his custody detention, rather than the notorious Tora prison.